They came to see familiar faces, hear familiar verses and sing familiar songs.

The capacity crowd Sunday at Christ Church spilled out of the pews and into the aisles, lobby and adjacent rooms.

"May (God) fill you with inner sweetness and good will," the Rev. Jim Erwin told participants at the end of the Festival of Lessons and Carols.

The traditional British service held on Christmas Eve has been a mainstay in Warwick for decades, Erwin said.

Wooden panels along the sanctuary walls were spruced up for the occasion with wreaths and bows.

The format of the service — brief readings interspersed with ebullient carols — made it accessible even to restless children. Youngsters were front and center, reading a passage from Genesis and leading the congregation in the hymn "And Every Stone Shall Cry."

The nine Biblical lessons started with God catching Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge and ended with Jesus Christ being embraced by true believers.

An organ and 20-member choir perched atop the balcony led the congregation in hymns both familiar — "O Come, all Ye Faithful" — and esoteric — "Prepare the Way, O Zion."

"God shall bring forth a son and he shall be called Jesus," a parishioner read from the Gospel of Luke. "He shall rule over the house of Jacob forever, and there shall be no end."

When the choir finished with "We Wish You a Merry Christmas," the congregants exchanged greetings with one another, shook hands with Erwin and stepped outside, feeling a little closer to Christmas.